Summary
Morally, strategically and economically, an American-Palestinian entente is a disaster for American interests. American support for a Palestinian state would be a mistake of enormous proportions. It would undermine our ally Israel and reward violence, demagoguery and treachery.
Such an entente is morally wrong because Yasser Arafat consistently sides with tyrants and America-haters. His closest allies are Iran and Iraq. He has warm relations with North Korea, Syria, and Cuba. His own regime suppresses and tortures political dissidents, brutally persecutes Christian Arabs, and provides a haven for terrorists who have murdered American citizens. Nothing in the formative years of the Palestinian Authority gives us reason to believe that a Palestinian state would have standards of justice, freedom, the rule of law and personal liberty that in any way mirror the operative principles of the United States or our ally Israel.
Economically, an American-Palestinian alliance would also be a disaster for the United States.
foreign donations, earmarked for social services and education, have more often than not ended up lining the coffers of Arafat's ministers and government officials. The $500 million already sunk into Gaza by the United States has joined billions of dollars of foreign aid that have disappeared into a black hole of Palestinian Authority graft and mismanagement.
Supporting Palestinian independence is a strategic mistake as well. America's security interests in the Middle East require stability and moderation. Arafat represents exactly the opposite. He coddles and collaborates with radical terrorists who wage war on Israel, and has made the West Bank and Gaza Strip internationally recognized as havens for terrorists. He has made no bones about future expansionist desires, coveting Jordan, which he considers part of "Greater Palestine". If there is a Palestinian state, it will be a launching pad for military adventures that will drown the Middle East in bloodshed.
If this is the opinion of a former American Senator from the other side of the planet, what should Israeli policy be?
*Reprinted with permission from A Palestinian State: Implications for
Security and American Policy, JINSA, 1999.
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